In Season Now! Grilled Caesar Salad and Garlic Scapes ideas.

(photo from Flickr)

This morning on CBC's Weekend Morning Show, hosted today by Laurie Hoogstraten featured some local greens including Romaine lettuce heads for Grilled Caesar Salad and Garlic Scapes, which can be used in a wide range of recipes.

Grilled Caesar Salad
4 whole Romaine Heads – serves 4


Place whole Romaine lettuce heads in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season. Place over a very hot grill and close BBQ. Turn and score lettuce head completely and then return to large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss with some of the following Caesar salad dressing, leaving heads whole. Serve whole Romaine lettuce head, one per serving.

Linda’s Classic Caesar Salad Dressing
1 oz Anchovies (approx 2) – I use anchovy paste
1 Tbls Fresh garlic, pressed
1Tbls Dijon mustard
½ Tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 Egg yolk, coddled
½ cup Good quality virgin olive oil
1 tsp Lemon juice
2 Tbls Red wine vinegar
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Seasoned croutons
Freshly ground pepper.

Place anchovies and fresh garlic in wooden salad bowl. Crush into fine paste.
Add Dijon & Worcestershire and stir.
Add egg yolk, stir. SLOWLY add olive oil while continuously stirring.
Add lemon juice, red wine vinegar and ½ the parmesan. Stir.

Garlic Scapes
Garlic scapes are the tender curvy greens that grow from the hardneck variety of garlic. The greens eventually straighten but are at their best when still curly. Cook as you would asparagus with a mild garlic flavour.

Garlic Scape Pesto
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 lb. scapes
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Puree scapes and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Stir in Parmesan and lime or lemon juice and season to taste.

Fried Scapes

Cut scapes to green bean size and saute them in butter and salt for six to eight minutes. During the last minute of cooking add about 1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar.

Spinach and Scape Frittata
3 Tbsp. olive oil
10 eggs
1 cup (1/2 lb.) chopped raw spinach
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped basil
1/2 c. finely chopped garlic scapes
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl mix all ingredients except oil and scapes. Heat oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet on the stove. Add the scapes and saute until tender on medium heat for about five minutes. Pour egg mixture in skillet with garlic and cook over low for three minutes. Place in oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until top is set. Cut into wedges and serve.

Enjoy!